What SHOULD They Learn?

But I was thinking about what kids need to know before they move into adulthood. What do I wish I had been able to focus on as a kid/teen? I created this list eons ago – when I still had three teenagers at home (and also a couple of grown step-kids with kids of their own!). I came up with my own list of what I thought would be good to learn.

Kindness and compassion. Learn how to put yourself into other people’s shoes. When everyone else jumps on a bandwagon against something someone did, hold back a little bit.

Live in the moment. Realize that there are about 16 waking hours in a day. And when they’re gone, they’re gone. There’s nothing wrong with having a little “down time” but make sure you have some “up time too.”

Listen to people when they talk to you. Give them your full attention. Think about what they’re saying but also why they might be saying it to you.

Get healthy. Learn healthy eating choices and find exercise that you like and can do nearly every day. You’re going to be in this body for a while – longer if you take care of it

Learn your strengths and your weaknesses. Take time to get to know yourself.

Manage your stress. Find a way to calm yourself – maybe meditation, visualization, yoga, journaling. Even just getting in the habit of taking your dog for a walk might work.

Learn how easily it is to be manipulated. Learn about the nature of advertising and marketing.

Learn how to pursue your interests. Learn how to find information on the internet and dive in!

Be brave. Try new things. You never know what you might actually like.

Imagine if these ideas permeated school curricula with the same importance as academics. In our homeschooling/unschooling world, it can. Reading, writing, and math will present itself. And if you need these more traditional “subjects” for a job you’d like to pursue, that’s why we have community college. But it seems a far better plan to focus more on these kinds of characteristics/traits than something that may not even be part of our world in ten years.